


Maybe, One Day

by dimpled_halo



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Drinking, Established Relationship, Happy Ending, Marriage, Married Life, No Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-09
Updated: 2017-11-09
Packaged: 2019-01-20 21:35:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12442284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimpled_halo/pseuds/dimpled_halo
Summary: This time it was Louis who walked out. And he didn’t just walk out of the room. He walked out of the flat. Grabbed his keys and wallet, mumbled something about needing to get out of here, and just left.Harry fell into a sobbing heap in the middle of their living room. All the anger and hurt he’d been holding in spilling out of him like a dam that finally gave in and broke.It’s going to be okay. He’ll be back. He always comes back. Right?**Harry and Louis have a fight. Harry spends 24 hours alone, battling the inevitable panic over what his life would be without his husband.





	Maybe, One Day

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so just a head's up that this fic is a happy ending yes but the focus of it is not on that. I wanted to highlight the not so happy and painful moments in a marriage/long term relationship. The moments that most couples have gone through that eventually turns into something that only makes that relationship stronger. So, I hope you enjoy it. It's going to be painful before it gets better and that's okay, because I think that's the type of feeling the song gives and I really wanted to evoke that feeling while you read. 
> 
> Anyway, enough rambling from me. Thanks to Lisa for taking a look at this and for my gc for encouraging me to keep going. Love you all!

Harry startles awake at the sound of the lawnmower outside his bedroom window. Out of instinct, he reaches to the right side of the bed to feel for Louis, but he’s not there. 

Right. 

They had a fight last night. It was a big one this time. 

Harry’s the type to take everything to heart. Louis is the one that just doesn’t think before he says something he’ll regret. Harry’s tried to pretend that Louis’ words don’t hurt him sometimes, and it makes him want to say hurtful things too. It turns into a war of words to see who can hurt the other the most until eventually someone storms out of the room and locks themselves in another room. Usually the bedroom.

It’s usually Harry that storms out, not being able to handle the confrontation and the arguing.

This time it was Louis who walked out. And he didn’t just walk out of the room. He walked out of the flat. Grabbed his keys and wallet, mumbled something about needing to get out of here, and just left.

Harry fell into a sobbing heap in the middle of their living room. All the anger and hurt he’d been holding in spilling out of him like a dam that finally gave in and broke.

_ It’s going to be okay. He’ll be back. He always comes back. Right? _

After Harry calmed down, he picked up the phone and called Louis. It went straight to voicemail.

_ Where the fuck is he? _

He presses call again for good measure, but it only brings back the same results. 

_“Hi, you've reached Louis, leave a message.”_ _Beep._

The beep sounds like it’s mocking Harry, making fun of him for not being able to get a hold of his husband. He suddenly resents the small piece of machinery, wishing it never existed so that it wouldn’t cause him this much pain, knowing that Louis is ignoring him on purpose.

Harry takes a deep breath.  _ Inhale. Exhale. _

_ It’s okay. He just needs time. He’ll be back. _

Harry feels embarrassed now that it’s the next day and he’d fallen asleep with the cell phone clutched to his hand. The phone had rolled off the bed onto the floor. Harry’s glad nobody is present to witness how fast he’d fallen to the floor to grab it to check if he’d gotten a call or maybe just a text... _ anything _ .

He got nothing. Not even a text message reassuring Harry that Louis was okay, that he’d be staying at Niall’s or maybe Liam’s. Nothing.

Harry is almost tempted to call their friends to ask if they’ve seen Louis, but then that would mean he’d have to explain what happened and he doesn’t want to do that. The last thing he wants to do is involve their friends.

Harry knows that every relationship has problems and people fight, but still. There’s no need for their friends to be exposed to this part. It’s just a rough patch, one they’ll eventually get through and Harry would have put their friends through all this stress over nothing, so no. He’s not going to call them.

_ We are going to get through this, right? _

To try and get his mind off things Harry decides to take a nice long shower, one that includes a long playlist of upbeat music to help him get his mind off things. It helps a little, but not really because Louis is  _ everywhere _ .

That’s the downside of sharing a life with someone. They consume everything around you, your entire being. All Harry has to do is look to his left and he’ll find Louis’ vanilla scented body wash that he insists they buy every time, even though it’s a little more expense than the store brand because “it’s okay to splurge on some things, Haz.” And next to that is the lube they leave in the shower just in case they want to have a quickie, or the green loofa Louis bought because it reminded him of Harry’s eyes. The next song that plays is the one that Louis loves to dance to no matter where he is, even if it’s driving down a busy street and people turn to look and throw him weird glances.

Harry becomes so overwhelmed with all of these thoughts of Louis that he ends up rushing through the rest of his shower. He throws on sweats and Louis’ black Vans t-shirt, even though it fits him a little snug, but it smells like Louis and it’s comforting.

He checks his phone again. Nothing.

Harry huffs, frustrated.  _ Breathe in. Breathe out. _

He walks towards the kitchen. It’s small, their whole flat is small, but they make due with what they have. They've got a little breakfast nook that they sort of use as a bar where they have their alcohol lined up. Harry eyes the different bottles they have. Bottles they’ve accumulated throughout the years, some fuller than others. He grabs the bottle of Jack Daniels and a shot glass.  _ Hey, it’s noon somewhere _ , Harry thinks bitterly.

The amber liquid spills a little on the counter as he pours himself a shot, but Harry doesn’t even bother to clean it up. Louis usually makes fun of him for the way he almost obsessively cleans around the flat.

_ But he isn’t here now is he? _

Harry swallows the shot in one quick swoop, the alcohol burning his throat on its way down, but he welcomes the feeling. Maybe getting drunk will help cover up the panic that is beginning to grow inside of him. He takes another shot, and then one more. His cheeks begin to warm up, and the liquid numbing agent is starting to kick in. He closes his eyes for a moment, and he sees Louis, so he opens them back up again. Another shot it is then. 

Five shots later, and he’s miserably drunk.

He dials Louis again and is greeted by Louis’ voicemail again. This time, instead of hanging up, he decides to leave a message. 

“Lou..answer the phone. Why don’t you ever say what you want to say? Instead you just walk away and turn off your phone.” Harry slurs. Tears threaten to spill from his eyes, “Just...come home okay?” He hangs up before he starts crying. He wipes at his eyes, angry at the bitter tears, angry at himself for reacting this way.

“Fuck.” Harry sniffles.

He feels so fucking pathetic. 

_ Why isn’t Louis ever the first one to break? _

At this point, Harry’s not really sure he remembers what they’re even fighting about. It’s one of those things that starts as one thing, but then morphs into something else, and just grows and grows until eventually feelings are hurt and egos are bruised and it’s just so fucking exhausting.

_ I hope he comes back. _

Harry stumbles onto the couch, the fluffy cushions making him sink into it, like being on top of a cloud. His eyes shut instantly, and he gives into to a weary sleep.

*

Harry’s eyes flutter open. There’s a warm arm wrapped around his torso and he smiles to himself as he turns around. Louis’ name almost falls from his lips but he freezes.

His eyebrows furrow in confusion because the person wrapped around him isn’t Louis, but she has caramel colored hair and soft blue eyes just like him. When she opens her eyes, they crinkle at the corners as she smiles. Just like Louis’.

Harry jumps out of the bed, his breathing a bit labored as he looks around the room. This isn’t his room, this isn’t the home he shares with Louis. Where the fuck is he? 

“What’s wrong honey?” The woman asks, concern showing on her face.

Harry leaves the room and looks around. The pictures of him and Louis are nowhere to be found. Instead, there’s pictures of him with the woman in his bed, smiling and posing for the camera.

“Where’s Louis?” Harry asks in a panic. “I need to talk to Louis!” 

“Who’s Louis?” The woman has joined Harry in the hallway, a sheet wrapped around her body.

“Louis...he’s my husband. Where’s my husband?” Harry goes back to the room to retrieve his phone. He unlocks it to find Louis’ contact, but it isn’t there. His hands are shaking, as the woman touches his arm, he startles.

“You don’t have a husband Harry. I’m your girlfriend. We live here together. We have been together for three years.” She tells him carefully, seeming to try and gauge Harry’s reaction as she gives him that information.

“No, no, no. That’s not possible. I was married, and we had a fight, and I fell asleep and now I’m here. I want to talk to Louis. You have to tell me where he is.” Harry feels like he’s on the verge of a panic attack, the words tumbling from his mouth and the air burning in his lungs. He tries to calm his breathing by taking deep breaths.

*

Harry jumps in a panic, eyes wide and heart beating wildly in his chest. Before he has time to process the dream he just had he hears a noise. His phone. His phone is making sounds.  _ Louis. _ Harry stumbles from the couch trying to reach over for his phone, having forgotten where he was for a moment. Still in his sleep haze, he answers the call without looking to see who it is.

“Hello? Louis?” Harry answers in a high pitched tone.

“Harry? No it’s Niall, hey.” In an instant, Harry’s face falls and he pushes down the tears that want to spill from his eyes.

“Hey Niall,” Harry clears his throat because his voice suddenly sounds too rough. “What’s up?”

“Not much. Sorry, is everything okay? You don’t sound well,” Niall asks, concern in his voice.

Harry chuckles, though it sounds more like a growl as he tries to wipe some of the tears that managed to escape. “Yeah, I’m fine. I was taking a nap when you called so I just woke up.”

He’s not necessarily lying, but hopefully it will appease Niall enough to stop prodding.

“Oh. Well, I just wanted to check in with you. Louis spent the night here.” Harry’s shoulders relax hearing that. At least he knows that Louis is okay.

“I’m alright. Been better. Can you tell him to call me? Either his phone is off or he’s just ignoring my calls and I’ve been trying to get a hold of him.”

Niall hums on the other line. “I’ll let him know. You’ll both get through this okay?”

Harry nods his head even though Niall can’t see him. “Yeah, thanks Ni. Love you.”

“I love you too. Call me if you need anything.”

When Harry hangs up, he stares at the wall for a moment. The flat is so quiet there’s a sort of almost inaudible ring in Harry’s ears. The flat has no life without Louis in it, and Harry will be damned if they don’t fix this.

The growl of Harry’s stomach startles him from his thoughts and so he stands up, a bit wobbly,  to prepare something to eat. Though, he doesn’t have much of an appetite, the sun has already gone down and he’s yet to eat anything all day. Harry figures that distracting himself a bit with some cooking will be good, so he gets to work on preparing a simple chicken alfredo. He makes sure to make enough for Louis too — it’s his favorite —  even though he still has no idea when he’ll return.

When he finishes, he sits at the dining table alone. Louis’ spot next to Harry is staring at him, and he tries not to dwell on how empty his life would be if things between them didn’t work out. It’s crazy the way your mind works, always thinking of worse case scenarios, like preparing for a natural disaster. Only this time, the disaster would be the end of a marriage, vows being broken, and lives being altered forever. 

_ No, it won’t get that far. I won’t let it. _

Harry places his phone on the dining table as he prepares to eat. He pokes around at his food here and there, taking a couple of bites. It’s good, and he drinks some water with it. The alcohol from this morning has given him a dull headache, but he hopes the food and water help get rid of it. The last thing he needs is have Louis come back when he’s hungover and feeling miserable because of his own doing.

Harry eats, and stares at his phone. Bite after bite. Willing his phone to ring, or notify him that Louis is there, missing him too, wanting to work it out too. Something. Anything. 

He gets nothing.

He gives up on trying to finish his dinner, so he puts the food away. There’s a sinking feeling in the bottom of his stomach that is only intensifying as the time goes by. Harry feels like he’s gonna throw up.

Harry hasn’t spoken to Louis since he went away, which has now been more than 24 hours. It’s not the longest they’ve gone without speaking, they can both be stubborn pricks, but it doesn’t stop it from hurting any less. He needs another distraction. One that doesn’t involve more alcohol.

He decides to watch some telly. Maybe getting distracted with someone else’s problems will help Harry stop thinking about his own. He switches Netflix on and finds something that will hopefully make him laugh, so he settles on How I Met Your Mother. It’s usually funny, and he and Louis have found themselves in the past having a good time watching the show, so he picks up on it where they’d left off not long ago.

To Harry’s own bad luck, the episode happens to be one that takes place in the last season of the series, where Marshall and Lily have an argument and Lily leaves the hotel room they’re staying at. Before it gets any further, Harry exits the show and decides to go for something else. Friends never seems to let him down, so he selects that instead.

Harry’s phone still remains silent next to him. He clicks on it a couple of times just to make sure it’s charged and turned on. Maybe Louis’ phone is dead and that’s why he hasn’t called. He did leave in a haste, after all. Maybe he’s planning on calling Harry back from Niall’s phone when he has a chance and tell him he’s sorry too. Maybe...Harry lets out a long sigh. He needs to stop torturing himself with his own thoughts. It can’t be healthy. 

Harry lays on the couch snuggled under a throw blanket and his eyes fall heavy as he waits. For what? He’s not quite sure, but eventually his eyes close and he lets sleep overtake him again.

*

The thunder and rainstorm pouring outside wakes Harry up from his slumber. He checks his phone, and it’s nearly midnight. No notifications from his husband anywhere in sight. His stomach churns with uneasiness, wondering how much longer this is going to last. 

Harry just wants to fast forward to when things are better again. To when he and Louis are happy, living their lives as best as they can. They may not have much money— hell, most of the time they stress about making ends meet. They have plans to have kids in the near future, even with names picked out if they have a boy or girl. He just wants to go back to having those plans, instead of stressing over whether or not they’re going to make it through this or not.

With a huff, Harry stands up, trying his best not to trip over anything in the dark apartment, making his way to the kitchen for a glass of water. He notices that the food he’d left on the counter is gone. He checks the refrigerator and it’s neatly put away, which makes Harry wonder if he’s the one that put it inside and just doesn’t remember. He shakes his head at himself and drinks his water before putting the glass away. On his way to the bedroom he sees Louis’ shoes thrown askew on the floor. As Harry begins to connect the dots, his walking speeds up and he finds Louis under the duvet on their bed. He’s sound asleep, small snores coming out of his nose, and Harry doesn’t know whether he wants to jump on him and kiss him to death or slap him upside the head for not waking him when he got in.

Instead, what Harry does is join him on the bed, lifting the duvet and settling himself. He tries not to jostle the bed too much, not wanting to wake Louis. Harry knows there’s so much to talk about and work through, but right now he’s just relieved that Louis is home, that he’s here, just an arm’s reach away from him. He lays his head on the pillow and sighs. For the amount of sleep he’s already gotten today, his eyes don’t seem to have trouble closing. As soon as he feels himself getting drowsy with sleep, he feels Louis’ arm wrap around his waist pulling him closer. Louis’ nose touches Harry’s ear and he can feel the warmth of his breath, which causes shivers throughout his body. 

And it’s in this very moment, with the way that Louis is holding him, his breath against his skin that Harry is reminded of how much he  _ loves  _ this man. 

It’s the happy moments, the fights, the bad times, the stress, the flashes of uncertainty when he feels they might not make it, it’s all worth it for this, right here. Having the person he loves most wrapped around him, so warm and soft, so close to him. It reminds him of what brought them together to begin with. The amount of love that has been shared between them is enough to last them many lifetimes. It makes this day, and whatever else comes their way worth it. Because their love is more than enough. It will grow. It will only get stronger.

Harry smiles to himself, and he’s assured by that very thought, and he knows, deep in his heart, he knows that they’re going to be okay.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for the pain! I hope it was worth it in the end :)  
> Please leave kudos and comments if you enjoyed the fic. Thanks!
> 
> Want me to write you your own fic? [Click here](https://comebackassholes.tumblr.com/post/173646347378/fics-and-betaing-for-charity). for more information!


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